More Than Just a Hammer

Learn to expand beyond just PHP to integrate other languages into both your personal skill set and the solutions you deliver.

In this talk we'll cover integrating JavaScript (frontend and backend via node) and how you can expand your current skill set to include this or any other language alongside PHP. The old saying, if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail, is very true so let's learn how to use a wrench and maybe a chainsaw!

Not only will this give you another tool in your tool belt, it will give you a greater understanding of development practices and the ability to on new jobs, new projects, and new challenges.

Comments

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this talk, but wanted to hear what Ben had to say about learning and using other tools and languages. He gave examples from his experience where other languages were useful to complete projects and gave pros and cons for incorporating other languages in projects. His live demo didn't start off great but he was able to pull it off and get the node demo working. I actually really liked seeing how he worked through a problem and resolved it because that is exactly one thing to figure out when using other languages.

It would have been nice to see perhaps a comparison of other common languages and their strengths and weaknesses and when using them could be advantageous over php and javascript. That could extend out to a simple feature and how that may be implemented in a few different languages. Perhaps extending out into various databases like postgresql, mongo, and others would have been good too. Also the swearing was a little too much for a professional talk for me. I noticed there were quite a few slides that weren't covered so perhaps a change in the pace or the ordering to be able to cover all the highlights and points needed.

Overall a good talk that I'd recommend giving again at user groups and conferences to help developers expand their skillset and branch out into other languages. Good talk!